Thursday, June 30, 2011

Thursday TV Coverage Should Confirm Tandem Plans

Both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series get on the big oval in Daytona Thursday with live TV coverage from SPEED and ESPN2. It should be interesting.

Before the action got underway, Brian France led a NASCAR delegation to Tallahassee, FL. The group included ESPN's Rusty Wallace and Darrell Waltrip of SPEED and FOX Sports. They met Governor Rick Scott at his official residence to promote the upcoming Daytona race and confirm NASCAR's economic impact on the state. Those are the pictures above courtesy of Rick Dole and Getty Images.

There has been much discussion that this time around, teams have actually planned well in advance their two-car strategies for the very strange tandem racing we are seeing at Daytona. No more random partners and radio chatter. As they say in the movies, this time it's for real.

While there were some teams able to get together in the past race, this Thursday coverage of multiple practice sessions should show teams tipping their hand. These cars simply have to go out and practice racing at speed and switching position to keep the engines from overheating.

Topics under discussion will be the heat of the track, the wear of the tires and the issues associated now with this tag-team approach to racing. It has been reported that deals have been made among teammates and within organizations for many weeks now. This time, it's a scripted ballet.

The complete TV schedule for Thursday is posted on the left side of the page. There will be news items added throughout the day, so check back for updates. To add your TV/media-related comments at anytime, just click on the comments button below. Thanks for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.

After the Hendricks teams put on a clinic on teamwork at Talladega, I expect they will keep it in-house again this weekend. However, it will be interesting to see which HMS cars are pushing and which are being pushed, when it comes to crunch time Saturday night. After all, a win for the 5 or the 88 would mean more right now than more wins for the 24 or 48, especially the 5 since he's out of the top 10.

I have a feeling we are going to see more tight shots and bumper cams then we have ever seen before.When you go this route this means you will see replay after replay to see what really happened on the track.

I am surprised that they haven't taken two cars and put them end to end (parked) and put a camera inside the drivers seat to show what the car in the back really sees.

Just a few observations regarding the NNS and Sprint Cup practice today. First, it was sad that the first voice I heard in the NNS segment was that of Marty Reid. Second, I experienced "tracker denial" in both segments. The tracker at the top of the screen was constantly disapearing after the fastest ten cars. Very frustrating. Third, I don't know why they pair up Larry Mac with Hammond. Regardless of my feelings toward them, Larry is technically far superior to Hammond. I don't find that Hammond brings much to the party..

I really don't like this tandem racing, although maybe it's what the broadcast is showing us instead of what is on the track. I never liked those big packs either because I get so nervous about wrecks happening and a driver getting hurt. Anyway, let's hope the rain goes away soon.